Mail-chute.



PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905.

F. E. ANDERSON.

MAIL CHUTE.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 24. 1905.

ATTORNEY UNITED STATES Patented June 13, 1905.

FRANK E. ANDERSON, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

MAIL-CHUTE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 791,995, dated June 13, 1905.

Application flled January 24,1905. Serial No. 242.583.

To all whom, it nzay concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK E. ANDERSON, a citizen of the United Sta-tes, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful YImprovements in Mail-Chutes, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates' to mailchutes designed to receive mailmatter at dierent iioors of a building and transmit it under the influence of gravity to a receptacle on a lower floor, from which the collector removes the mail at stated intervals.

The object of my invention is to provide a mailchute of simple and inexpensive construction which will not be injured by corrosion or by contraction or expansion, due to changes of temperature or settling of the building in which the chute is situated, and which o`ers an extremely smooth and clear passage for mail-matter.

My present invention is also designed as an improvement upon the mail-chute described and claimed in Letters Patent No. 746,233, issued to me December 8, 1903, in which a mail-chute is described increasing in size from the top to the bottom at each aperture for the reception of mail-matter. The present improvement lessens the increase in the size of the chute, while retaining the advantages eX- plained in said patent.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is afrontview of my improved mailchute. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view in perspective of the parts adjacent to a mailreceiving aperture. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of thesame on theline 5 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a sectional view in perspective of the front of the chute within an inclosed band. Fig. T is a diagrammatic view showing the front and back of the chute fitted together before the inclosing bands are tightened into position, the curve of the back being slightly exaggerated. Fig. 8 is asectional view showing the overlapping of the backs. Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing' the sheet metal for the front and back with a thin glazed coating fused thereon.

In the drawings, 1 is the metal front of the chute, having the sides 2 and the connectingstrips 3 across the glass 4. The glass 4 is beveled at 5, where it approaches a mailingaperture 6, and also at 7 beneath the inclosing band 8. The mailing apertures 6 are formed in the metal casting 9, which has an upper front extension 10 and a lower front extension 11 and ears 12 for the screws 13. The inclosing bands 8 have ears 14 for the screws 15. The metal back 16 of the chute has the sides 17, adapted to iit within sides 2 of the metal front 1. 18 is an extension of metal front 1 beneath inclosing band 8. 19 is the wall of the building. The different floors are numbered 20.

21 is the guard provided in the rear of each mailing-aperture.

22, Fig. 9, is the thin glazed coating fused upon the sheet metal 28, of which the front and back of the mail-chute are made.

An understanding of my invention will best be had from the following description.

The chute proper is made of three partsnamely, the metal front 1, the metal back 16, and the plate-glass 4. Asbest shown in Fig. 3, these parts are arranged with the glass 4 secured to the front 1 by means of insetscrews, Fig. 5, so that a smooth passage is provided for the mail. Between each side of the glass plates 4 and the sides 2 of the metal front a recess is left (best shown in Fig. 3) for the reception of sides 17 of the metal back 16. Before the chute is secured in position the rear face of metal back 16 curves outward, as indicated in slightly -exaggerated form in Fig. 7; but when secured in position the back 16 is retained against wall19, so that the various parts are held tightly together, as indicated in Fig. 3. Where the metal backs overlap one another, as shown in Fig. 2, the upper section is placed inside the lower, so that the joint offers no obstruction to mail passing downward, as best indicated in Fig. 8. Beneath the inclosing bands 8 a space is provided between adjacent plates of glass 4, the top of the lower glass being beveled at 7 for the reception of extension 18 of an upper IOO metal front 1, the sides 2 of which do not eX- tend below the bottom of the glass. At each aperture 6 is a g'uard 21, provided to prevent interference throug'h the aperture with mail passing from above. Above the guard 21 is a slight ledge, upon which rests an upper metal front 1, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4.

By constructing the chute of the closelyfitting metal front and back in sections with the glass plates secured tothe metal front, the whole structure being held tightly together by means of the inclosing' bands 8 and similar inclosing devices at each aperture, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the use of rivets or other fastening' devices liable to loosen and protrude within the chute into the path of the mail is avoided. The recesses between the glass 4 and the sides 2 of metal front 1, into which the sides 17 of the metal back iit, provide a close joint, offering' no obstruction to passing mail-matter.

IVhen the various parts ofthe chute are eX- tended or contracted by changes in temperature or when the building settles, as frequently happens, the parts will slide by each other slightly beneath the retaining-bands without causing any breakage of glass or buckling' of metal.

At each aperture for the reception of mail I enlarge the chute, so as to provide an enlarged path for the mail-matter, as shown. However, in a chute constructed in accordance with my Letters Patent No. 746,233, dated December 8, 1903, when installed in a building' having a large number of stories the size of the chute from front to rear at the lower stoi'ies might be objectionable, causing the chute to protrude too far into the hallway. In my present chute, therefore, although I increase the size of the chute at each mail-receiving aperture I gradually incline the front inward an amount corresponding substantially to two-thirds of the increase provided ata mail-receiving aperture. IVith this arrangement, although the size of the chute increases gradually from the top floors to the bottom, such increase is lessened materially, so as to obviate effectively the objection referred to. The inclination of the front of the chute due to this arrangement is so slight as to be imperceptible to the casual observer or user. Where mail-matter is introduced at a mailing-aperture and its descent is slow, a considerably-enlarged path is provided; but where the speed of such additional mail-matter has increased it is unobjectionable to restrict slightly the size of the path, as indicated.

I cut out a large portion of the face of the metal front of the chute over the glass, leaving', however, retaining-strips 3 protecting' the glass. Such retaining-strips 3 may be arranged in a distinctive design, as indicated. It will be seen that the front and outer sides of the chute are constructed of a single piece of metal, so that no fastening' devices are required other than the retaining-bands which secure the entire chute in position against the wall of the building.

In `mail-chutes it is important to provide an extremely smooth surface for the interior. Where metal is exposed, it is liable to corrode and roughen. Metal on the ou tside of a chute requires constant polishing. I therefore coat the inner surface of the back 16 and sides 17 and also vextensions 18 of front 1 with a thin layer of porcelain or similar substance adapted to provide an enamel-like surface fused upon the metal, so that the entire inside of the chute will present a g'lass or glazed surface past which the mail-matter may drop without liability to obstruction. A similar coating may be provided for the outer surface of all metal parts on the outside of the chute, the front 1, and sides 2, the inclosing bands 8, and metal castings 9. Such coating may be applied in any desired color to harmonize with the surroundings or in imitation of the marble or stone of the hallways where the chute is installed.

vWhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a mail-chute, a front having integral sides and a back having integral sides adapted to contact with the sides of the front.

2. In a mail-chute, a front provided with integral sides and having integ'ral strips at each edge and open spaces at the front surface leaving' integral strips for protecting the glass casing'.

3. In a mail-chute, a front having integral sides, a back having integ'ral sides, and retaining means for securing the front and back in close contact.

4. In a mail-chute, a front, sides integral therewith, g'lass secured within the front, and a back having integral sides.

5. In a mail-chute, a front and sides, glass secured to said front so as to leave at each end a recess between the g'lass and the sides, and a back having sides adapted to be held in said recesses.

6. In a mail-chute, a front having integral sides, a back normally curved and having integral sides, and means for securing the front and back in close contact with the back straightened against the wall of the building.

7. In a mail-chute, a back having integral sides and formed in overlapping' sections, and a retaining-band for holding the sections in position but free to move by each other under the influence of changes in temperature or settling of the building'.

8. In a mail-chute, an open front formed in sections and having' glass secured thereto, said glass being beveled at the top to receive an extension of the section above.

9. In a mail-chute, a front in sections hav- ICO IIO

ing integral sides, and a back in corresponding sections, having integral sides.

10. In a mail-chute, a front in sections, a back in sections, and retaining means consisting of friction-bands at the meeting of the sections so arranged that the sections are movable in respect to each other under changes in temperature, or when the building settles.

11. In a mail-chute, a number of vertical sections provided with glass at the front, the top of each glass being beveled so as to present no obstruction to mail-matter passing from above.

12. In a mail-chute having a plurality of mail-receiving apertures in different horizontal planes; a conductor extending from the upper aperture to the receptacle at the bottom so constructed that at each aperture below the top its size is enlarged, and a series of front faces for the conductor each extending from an upper aperture to the next lower aperture and inclined inward slightly so as to decrease gradually the size of the conductor.

13. In a mail-chute having a plurality of mail-receiving apertures and so constructed as to provide a path for the mail enlarged at each aperture below the top, a series of front faces for said mail-chute, each extending from an upper aperture to the next lower aperture and inclined inward slightly so as to decrease gradually the size of the mail-chute.

14. In a mail-chute having a plurality of mail-receiving apertures in different horizontal planes, a series of front faces for said mailchute so arranged as to provide at each aperture below the top an enlarged path for the mail, but gradually inclined inward between said apertures to decrease the projection of the mail-chute from the wall of the building.

15. In a mail-chute having a plurality of mail-receiving apertures in different horizontal planes, a conductor extending from the upper aperture t the receptacle at the bottom so constructed that at each aperture below the top its size is increased and having slightlyinclined front faces below said apertures to decrease gradually the size of the conductor an amount less than said increase.

16. In a mail-chute having a plurality of mail-receiving apertures in different horizontal planes, a conductor so constructed that the path for the mail is enlarged at each aperture below the top but gradually diminished beneath each aperture to decrease partially the amount of said enlargement.

17. In a mail-chute, a metal back provided with an interior glazed coating fused thereon.

18. In a mail-chute, a metal back and sides provided with interior glazed coatings fused thereon.

19. In a mail-chute, a metal back provided with integral sides, both back and sides having an interior glazed coating fused thereon.

20. In a mail-chute, a metal front provided with an exterior glazed coating fused thereon.

21. In a mail-chute, a metal front and sides provided with exterior glazed coatings fused thereon.

22. In a mail-chute, a metal front provided with integral sides, both back and sides having an exterior glazed coating fused thereon.

28. In a mail-chute having a glass and metal interior, a glazed coating fused upon interiorly-exposed surfaces of said metal.

24:. In a mail-chute having a glass and metal exterior, a glazed coating fused upon exteriorly-exposed surfaces of said metal.

25. In a mail-chute having a plurality of mail-receiving apertures and so constructed as to provide a path for mail-matter from an upper to a lower floor, a glazed or porcelain lining for said chute adapted to provide a smooth surface and to protect metal parts of the chute from corrosion.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 21st day of January, A. D. 1905.

FRANK E. ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH A. STETsoN, JOHN S. SHEPPARD, Jr. 

